Fulford said he hid under rocks and mud was feet away from police during their overnight search

By Sam Lounsberry

Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
11/09/2017 06:10:29 PM MST

Adam Fulford takes his seat after entering the courtroom before his sentencing on Wednesday at the Larimer County Justice Center in Fort Collins. (Timothy Hurst / The Coloradoan pool photographer)

FORT COLLINS — Details of how Adam Fulford avoided police overnight between March 31 and April 1 during a 14-hour manhunt for the suspect in the Horsetooth Reservoir area were revealed Thursday at his formal sentencing.

Fulford also provided his account of why he eluded police for so long and caused the overnight search, stating that he covered himself with mud and rocks near the shore of Horsetooth Reservoir on the other side of a guardrail from a road. He said police came within feet of him while he remained hidden overnight. He said he was convinced officers would use deadly force against him and ran and hid as a result.

Hildebrand and her 9-year-old daughter suffered multiple broken bones, including their pelvises, and effects of their injuries sustained in the accident at Wilson Avenue and Eisenhower Boulevard are still lingering. Her 11-year-old son suffered only a broken hand, but has a clear memory of the traumatizing incident, while his sister and mother cannot remember the crash for the most part due to brain injuries.

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"My children are strong, resilient humans," Hildebrand said to Lammons.

In her address to the courtroom, Hildebrand criticized Larimer County Sheriff's Office deputies for continuing their pursuit of Fulford at over 90 miles per hour despite knowing his address.

Attorney Ashley Morriss speaks to Adam Fulford, right, after his sentencing on Wednesday at the Larimer County Justice Center in Fort Collins. (Timothy Hurst / The Coloradoan pool photographer)

"We are victims of a high-speed police chase, started by Mr. Fulford, whose address was known to the sheriff's office, and perpetuated by law enforcement. I've been told the crash was worth his arrest," Hildebrand said. "No child's life is worth arresting a drug addict. I have had three police officers tell me they had so much fun during the chase. I was shocked to hear the department thinks the cost and the risk is worth the chase. I firmly believe they do not know the actual cost or risk."

Hildebrand said her car insurance was billed over $123,000 due to the incident. Her daughter's medical care will continue throughout her teenage years, as more surgeries on her are likely required to ensure correct bone growth, she said.

"I hope (Fulford) thinks of (my daughter) in 10 years when she is going through surgery yet again," Hildebrand said.

Deputy District Attorney David Vandenberg defended the actions of law enforcement and placed the blame for the crash that injured the Hildebrands solely on Fulford.

"This was not a person they were trying to arrest because he was using or possessing drugs," Vandenberg said, noting Fulford had discharged a firearm during the manhunt and that homemade explosives were later found in his possession. "The police don't set the speed in a chase. The speed was entirely controlled by Mr. Fulford."

The court hearing also revealed the firearm that fired into a taxi driver's leg while Fulford was riding in the vehicle while eluding police discharged accidentally. Both Vandenberg and Fulford's defense attorney Ashley Morris acknowledged the gun was not purposely fired by Fulford, but discharged as the suspect was moving from the back seat of the taxi into the front.

Dozens of Fulford's friends and family members gathered for the hearing and became emotional during the hour-long court proceeding.

His sister, Devon Fulford, read a letter she had written, as well as a letter Fulford's twin brother Casey provided to Devon Fulford to read on his behalf.

"I am not here to defend, condone or minimize any of the events of March 31 and April 1. Adam is not a saint, but he is a loving, compassionate, artistic father," Devon Fulford said. "I can't sit quietly by and let the world think of Adam as a monster. Adam is not a bad person, he's a human who made some severe errors in judgment."

Casey Fulford's letter explained Adam Fulford spiraled into a depression in the year before the manhunt that started with the sudden passing of their father in January 2016. Soon after, Adam Fulford lost his general manager position with a quarry he had worked at for 17 years due to changes in the company's ownership, and also lost the home he owned as a result, as well as his health insurance that was paying for prescription painkiller medications.

Fulford turned to heroin when he could no longer afford to refill his prescription painkillers.

"I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to the victims," Fulford said in a tearful speech. "Violence never enters my thoughts unless I'm condemning it or trying to prevent it. The accusations I faced are so out of my character. My heart broke into 1,000 pieces when I found out I injured a family."

Fulford said he was tormented when he was in solitary confinement at the Larimer County Jail by a deputy untruthfully telling him the children who were struck in the accident had died.

Prior to the manhunt, he said he knew he was being surveilled by officers who wanted to arrest him on a warrant in a drug case.

He said when police officers first tried serving him a warrant at a central Fort Collins apartment complex, he initially went to his knees and placed his hands behind his back, but before he could be handcuffed he took off running, and even escaped again after being shot with a Taser.

From there, the police chase ensued as he entered the taxi and began fleeing from police.

"I believe I was grossly overcharged with 60 counts, not for my conduct, but because police were publicly embarrassed by their inability to find me when I was feet from their vehicles," Fulford said. "I truly never meant for any of this to happen."

The seven felonies Fulford pleaded guilty to as part of the agreement were two counts of first-degree assault, aggravated robbery, vehicular eluding, second-degree burglary, possession of a dangerous weapon and aggravated motor vehicle theft.

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